The Bookman's Apprentice
by dancing-with-the-devil 1995
Summary: Episode 2. The TARDIS lands in England, 1903. Landing inside the Black Order Headquarters, the Time Travellers come to the attention of the residents inside. But who exactly is Lavi, the Bookman's Apprentice, and how does he know so much about The Doctor's Granddaughter? And more to the point, what's all this talk about Generals, Innocence and Akuma? One way to find out. Geronimo!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not -Man nor Doctor Who. I wish I did though, that would be nice. I own the idea placed before you, that is all.

The Bookman's Apprentice

Episode 2

The TARDIS lands in England, 1903. Landing inside the Black Order HQ, they immediately come to the attention of the residents. But who exactly is Lavi, the Bookman's Apprentice, and why does he know so much about The Doctor's Granddaughter? And more to the point, what's all this about Generals, Exorcists, Innocence and Akuma? One way to find out. Geronimo!

Chapter 1

A Further Introduction

The Doctor fell out of the TARDIS and saw Susan standing there, arms folded, not at all happy, "How long was I gone for?" He asked tentatively.

"Fourteen years," Susan replied, her tone short, easily conveying her annoyance. And she had every right to be annoyed. Fourteen years was a long time when he was sure he'd promised her he'd be five minutes, "Well, can I come in?"

"What? Come in- ah yes, right, absolutely," The Doctor stood aside, letting Susan into the TARDIS. He's redecorated… again, Susan realised, the TARDIS now all blues and greys where it had once been warm oranges. She wasn't sure which she preferred. This felt colder, had something awful happened? She always thought that the TARDIS interior reflected the mood of The Doctor. The first time she had travelled with him, it had been white, a blank slate. Both Time Travellers just starting out. Then when she had last met him, fourteen years ago, it was orange; perhaps he'd been a warm kind character. And now it blue, cold and impersonal. He was lonely, she realised, more than she had ever imagined. Susan paused when she saw another figure in the control room, a pretty dark-haired girl. Susan turned back to her grandfather, "And who might this be?"

The Doctor, absent minded as he ever was looked at the two girls as if he were seeing them for the first time, "Ah, yes, Susan, this is Clara Oswald, my new companion. Clara, this is Susan Foreman, my granddaughter," He said proudly, although Susan really wasn't sure who he sounded more proud of. She regarded Clara warily, suspicious and slightly jealous of this other girl. She had hoped it would be just her and The Doctor this time around. Alas, that was not to be.

"Hold on, you have a granddaughter?" Clara asked.

Susan nodded, "Yep, that's me," She waved awkwardly, "The Doctor's Granddaughter. Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Susan smiled sweetly. Her grandfather always had a thing for finding the pretty ones to take with him, and they would always follow. Maybe she had imagined the conversation when he said it was just be the two of them. With The Doctor, everything was a possibility.

The Doctor skipped around the console, as he was prone to do, the aged time machine giving the occasional jerk as it flew. Clara was now stood next to Susan, both clinging to the railing for safety, "So how long have you waited?"

"What?" Susan asked a little more sharply than she had intended.

Clara nodded towards The Doctor, "We were travelling and he said you were waiting for him," So they'd already been travelling, Susan realised. How nice that she had been a side thought, "So how long were you waiting for?" The TARDIS jolted again, Susan's shoulder protesting at the sudden movement.

"Fourteen years."

"Long time."

"Time Lady, blink of an eye," Susan shrugged the time off, not wanting Clara to know just how much the time had bothered her.

The Doctor cleared his throat, "Sorry to interrupt your conversation but we need somewhere to land. Susan? Clara's already had her place, it's your turn."

"You got side tracked?"

The Doctor pulled a series of faces, circling his hands, "Oh, just pick a date."

Susan thought for a moment, "25th March, 1903."

"25th March 1903 it is then," The Doctor set the date, wondering why that particular date. He couldn't recall anything major happening on that date, in terms of world history or Susan's personal life. He didn't ask though, not knowing wouldn't kill him. The TARDIS groaned and The Doctor stood back, beaming like a child, "We have arrived."

Susan hugged her grandfather tightly, in a way she hadn't since she was a child, before almost skipping out of the TARDIS. She found herself face-to-face with three men. One, a long haired Asian man, looked far too happy to see her, his eyes glinting behind his glasses. The second man bore an uncanny resemblance to Adolf Hitler, and looked just as nice in character. The final was an auburn haired… boy—young man?—any which way, he was still younger than the other two by a few years and looked at her with much more familiarity than the other two.

The Asian man grabbed Susan by her shoulders, "General! Please tell us you still have your Innocence?"

General? Innocence? Wait… what? "That's none of your bloody business," Susan protested, pushing the slightly odd man off her.

"Komui," The younger man piped up, "they're all time travellers remember? None of this has happened for them yet. Right events, wrong order, am I correct?" He stepped forward, "Name's Lavi," He extended his hand, "Nice ta meet ya," He smiled broadly, the skin round his visible eye crinkling slightly. Laughter lines, Susan thought. His other eye was hidden behind an eye-patch and his hair.

Susan took Lavi's hand, shaking it more from politeness than anything else, having no clue what else to do yet, "Uh… hi." Susan's voice sounded weak to her own ears. The Doctor and Clara finally emerged from the TARDIS, Susan throwing a glare back at The Doctor, "They could've been hostile."

"And I would have swung in and saved the day. Don't worry," The Doctor straightened his bow-tie, noticing Lavi and Susan's hands, "And you would be?"

Lavi let go of Susan's hand, "Lavi, sir," he nodded to Clara, "Ma'am," Clara dipped her head slightly in response.

The man who looked like Hitler finally spoke, "Since Miss Foreman appears to be without her Innocence, perhaps it would be wise to take her to see Hevlaska?" Although it was disguised as a question, it was clear that this was an order. Susan would see Hevlaska. His red uniform set him apart from Lavi, a higher rank than the young man if his tone was anything to go by. She got the distinct impression that he was a man who was used to being obeyed. Well, wasn't that nice for him, perhaps someone should rock the boat around here.

Komui clapped his hands, "Yes, Hevlaska. Right away. This was please, General," He began steering Susan through the labyrinthine corridors of the building, Lavi following close behind, "Isn't Rouvelier coming?" He asked.

Rouvelier glared at The Doctor, "Doctor," he greeted the Time Lord tightly, not at all enjoying being in his presence. "Might I suggest that you keep your family on a tighter leash? The trouble Miss Foreman had caused for myself and my colleagues is disconcerting to say the least. As her father-"

"Grandfather," The Doctor corrected him, "I'm Susan grandfather."

Rouvelier pursed his lips, "As her grandfather, I expect that you could at least try and keep the girl under some control. Only for the Black Order to be able to run smoothly, you understand."

The Doctor smiled sardonically, "I understand perfectly. What was your name? I'm not sure I caught it earlier."

"Inspector Rouvelier." Despite having met The Doctor several times before, this was the first time Rouvelier had had to introduce himself to The Doctor. So, this was the first time in The Doctor's life they had met. That was interesting.

"Well then, Rouvelier, I understand perfectly."

Rouvelier nodded stiffly, "I'm glad we understand one another," Rouvelier afforded the pair a final sweeping glare, before stalking down the corridor after Susan, Komui and Lavi.

"What exactly did Susan do to rile him up so badly?" Clara asked.

The Doctor shrugged, "No idea, but I can't wait to find out. Beauty of time travel that is. You annoy people and figure out how you did, just so you keep up the consistency," He offered his arm to Clara, "Shall we Miss Oswald?"

Clara linked her arm with The Doctor's, "We shall Doctor."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The God Crystal

Lavi guided Susan through the long winding corridors of the headquarters. As they got closer and closer to what Susan assumed was Hevlaska, whatever that was, the previously grey stone walls began to emit an eerie white glow. The small group came round another corner to overlook a vast circular chasm. Susan could neither see the top of the room nor the bottom of it, not that she would be able to see the bottom since the chasm was occupied by a creature she could only assume was Hevlaska.

Hevlaska was an entity that was awe-inspiring and comforting all at once. She glowed with a pale blue light and her serpentine body seemed almost translucent as it swayed this way and that, various tentacles following suit. Her scales grew in size as they reached her head, the largest covering the top half of her head, leaving only her mouth and the barest hint of a nose visible. "Child of time," Hevlaska's melodic voice filled the space, "You have returned," She swooped down so she was face to face with Susan. Susan could now fully appreciate just how incredible Hevlaska was; Hevlaska's face alone was near the same size as Susan's entire body, "And yet," Hevlaska continued, sounding solemn, "Something appears to be different."

"Komui and Lavi said something about Innocence?" Susan asked, her voice shaky, suddenly feeling very unsure of herself.

"You may know it better as the God Crystal," Hevlaska responded after a short pause. Yes, Susan knew of the God Crystal. The Noah had spoken of it with more than casual disdain. Sensing that Susan's confusion had cleared up, Hevlaska continued, "Innocence is a weapon granted to us by the Father to aid humanity in the fight against the Millennium Earl and the Noah Family. Only those chosen, the Accommodators, can wield the power of the Innocence. You, Child of Time, are one of the chosen to aid humanity in this fight."

"Where is it? How do I find the Innocence that is meant to be mine?"

Hevlaska pulled back and Susan was afraid she had offended the being, "I am the Guardian of the Innocence. The crystals reside inside me until an Accommodator is found." Susan stared at Hevlaska as a small greenish cube travelled up her body, phasing through when it reached Susan's height. Susan instinctively held out her hand and the cube dropped into her hand, transforming into a thick viscous liquid the moment it hit her palm. She stared, wide-eyed, at the liquid in her hand. What on earth was she supposed to do now? She looked around for guidance.

"Drink it," Lavi answered.

Susan looked at the liquid sceptically, then back to Lavi. Seeing that there really was nothing else for it, Susan gave a little shrug and drank the liquefied Innocence. She grimaced as she felt the Innocence slip down her throat. With a name like the God Crystal, you would think it would taste nice, but, as Susan was rapidly discovering, that was not the case.

Susan waited a moment, looking about her self for any changes. Seeing none, she turned to her observers, "Now wh-" Susan was cut off when two jet streams of blood erupted from her wrists. Susan fought the urge to scream. This was barbaric.

Clara went to step forward, to comfort Susan, but the Doctor held her back. She looked up at the Time Lord, confused, "But she's in pain."

"And she'll survive. They've all met her before, so that," He looked at Clara, "means she'll be fine. No need to worry. Besides, I've never seen anything like this before. Don't want to interfere."

Susan watched her blood as it arced down to her palms, crystallising into two Sais. Susan looked at her wrists, seeing two crucifix shaped scars. They were really pushing the religion thing, huh? She thought. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned her head to see Lavi standing behind her, "say 'activate' to summon them, 'deactivate' to get rid of them."

"Deactivate," Susan said quietly. Instantly, the scars opened up again and the Sais vanished into her wrists, "Because that is not weird at all."

Lavi laughed, "Yours isn't that different to Lenalee's, only hers is in her feet," He explained, momentarily forgetting that, at this moment in her timeline, Susan hadn't met Lenalee yet.

"Lenalee?"

"Komui's sister," Lavi looked up at Hevlaska, "All yours."

"What?" Susan asked. Her answer was given when Hevlaska scooped her up in one of her tentacles, wrapping her tightly. The creature began to count, speeding through numbers until Susan could no longer distinguish between the end of one number and the start of the next. As she approached the late seventies, Hevlaska's counting began to slow, "seventy nine…. Eighty….eighty one…eighty two….eighty three. Synchronicity rate is eighty three percent." Hevlaska lowered Susan back down to the balcony.

"Uh, yeah, thanks for that. What's a synchronicity rate?" Susan asked, directing the question to no one in particular.

"How in-tune you are with your Innocence," Lavi explained, "The higher the rate, the easier it is for you to use."

"Right…" Susan nodded, trying to make sense of it all. From what she could gather, she had just waded into a religious war, a modern Crusades. And now she was embedded with some mystical weapon that would aid this side in this war, a war that Susan really didn't want to be a part of. She'd had enough of war to last her several lifetimes.

Why did so many species always resort to killing?

Susan shook her head, this was insane. Of all her travels, everything that had happened to her, all the mad and wonderful species she had encountered, this was up there with the strangest thing that ever happened to her. Of course, she was always willing to be corrected on that one.

"Perhaps," Rouvelier spoke, "It would be wise for Miss Foreman to be given a tour of the headquaters?" another statement disguised as a question.

"Uh, yeah, sure, I'll show her round," Lavi spun Susan away from the Inspector's gaze, "Come on."


End file.
